Raising Them for the Lord

With sadness and regret, I remember back to the days when I would hoard baked goods or sweets for myself. After baking a batch of cookies, I’d devour far too many, and limit my kids to one or two each; mostly because I wanted more for myself, but under the guise of being a good Mom and making sure my kids didn’t eat to many sweets. A box of Honey Buns were reserved for me, alone…all six of them! And many more sweet treats can be added to the list, far more than this article need contain. I was, in a word, selfish . But I didn’t see it that way, I saw it in the light of being older, I deserved more. I was the mom, after all! Who would dare suggest that my desire to keep more for myself and limit my children was bad? My kids didn’t need all the sweet treats, really. Duh…neither did I! This past year I have taken myself on a journey. Limiting my sweets, as well as those for my family, so that I could find what healthy was for me. I have refrained from baking sweet treats of any sort ...

I Corinthians 10:31- Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. Recently I have heard this verse used in reference to several different topics: drinking, working, eating, etc., because they are directly referenced in this verse.  While I've not had to struggle with alcohol and no longer work outside the home, I have tried to apply this more to my eating habits.  But that is not what God has been convicting me about lately with this verse.  It has been about taking care of my home and family for the glory of God.  It is easy to take the privilege of being a stay at home mom for granted.  I am home all day, so the dishes and other housekeeping can wait. I am busy checking my favorite blogs, I can read the kids a book later. My Bible isn't going anywhere, I'll do my devotions later on...maybe while the kids nap. And there are many more things that I can take for granted.  But are the tasks I am avoid...

I’ve said that to my children many, many times; as a matter of fact, just this morning I said it to my oldest two. Only this time, I was convicted myself. How many times have I looked at the kitchen counter and thought, “I really need to do the dishes,” and yet they remain there, dirty, for a few more hours (or days). UGH! What a hypocrite I’ve been in front of my children. No, they didn’t hear anyone telling me to clean the house, or know that I refused to obey the prompting and try to rationalize my disobedience with things like the following: • I don’t feel good today; I’ll do it tomorrow when I’m feeling better. • I let it go too long already. I feel overwhelmed by it, and I just can’t handle that feeling right now. • Maybe if I leave it until after my husband gets home I can make him feel sorry enough to do it for me. • I don’t want to do it now, just because! Whatever the reasons, they cause me to not obey right away, the right way. That’s just for the chores that I...

Acts 5:42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. Deuteronomy 6:7  And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest us. We have been reading to our children since long before they could talk.  Stories like Dr. Seuss , The Poky Little Puppy , as well as Bible stories like Jonah and David and Goliath.  Now that they are older we are beginning to apply lessons - Biblical lessons - they should be learning from the stories we share with them.  Recently I read a story to Sister about a train that left its track because it was tired of the same thing every day.  It wanted to do something different than it was supposed to do.  What happened...it ended up in a pond - stuck!  It's passengers (toys) had to push it out so they could return to the track and d...

This week we have started chore charts with both kids.  My hope is to have them used to a routine before the new baby comes to help make the transition to a new morning routine easier on all of us.  Our first chore chart has only four things for them to accomplish each day: Get Dressed, Make Bed, Brush Hair, Brush Teeth.  As they get comfortable with the routine, we will add small responsibilities they can successfully accomplish.  The incentive for them is a sticker or stamp for each item they complete each day.  If the chart is completed at the end of the week, we will take some money from their money banks and they will be able to pick out one thing from a dollar store.  I got an ideas for our own chart from the Homeschooling Curriculum for Life website  where they provide free printable chore charts for all ages.  I created our charts for our needs in Word using a Table format. The first day, it seemed really help Bubba wake up better and h...

Sunday morning are usually packed full with getting the kids ready, eating breakfast, and getting to church on time.  But with the time change this week, we had a little more time since our bodies didn't get the message about the time change and we all got up a little early.  The easy way to fill that extra time for the kids while Mommy and Daddy relax for a few minutes would be to turn on the TV for them.  But something exciting happened in our house.  When asked if they wanted to watch a show, the kids informed Daddy that they were talking about God! Daddy asked if he could join in the talk with them, and Sister said, "Sure!" The conversation moved from where does Jesus live, to why don't we want to go to hell, and what is sin, to finally how we can get to heaven.  That was the point that our four year old got distracted and started talking about ways Jesus could take us to heaven.  Her ideas included using and elevator, a helicopter, airplane, o...

Daily devotions with the children, I admit, have been hit and too often miss with the kids...until we found this gem when we attended a book fair at Barnes and Noble. The Children's Bible in 365 Stories by Mary Batchelor. The Bible comes to life for my children as I read them stories from the Bible in a setting they comprehend. The stories of the Bible are broken into 365 manageable readings - one for each day of the year. However, my children prefer that I read a story though completely. The breaks allow me to pause and go over any questions they already have about the story. The most exciting part for me is that later in the day they can correctly answer questions about the story! The illustrations are intriguing as well, and help keep my children engaged as I read the story. They can explore the intricate artwork, and often ask questions about the picture to help deeper understand and remember the story. I would recommend this book to any parent looking for a way to begi...